‘It’s beyond the taste of fear… and nobody hears your prayers.’
Evil Altar is a 1988 American supernatural horror film directed by former stuntman James Winburn from a screenplay by Brent V. Friedman (Syngenor; Scatterbrain; Ticks), John Geilfuss and Scott Rose.
The film stars William Smith (Grave of the Vampire; Invasion of the Bee Girls; Uncle Sam), Pepper Martin (Scream [1980], Ghost Fever, Return to Horror High), Tal Armstrong, Theresa Cooney, Jack Vogel (Demon Wind; Zombie Wars), Connie Woods [as Connie LoLan] (Night of the Living Babes), Robert Z’Dar (The Night Stalker; Grotesque; Maniac Cop), David Campbell (Speak of the Devil; Devil Rider; Night Claws), Lee Night, John Powers, Marcus Chong [as Marcus Wyatt], Patrick Fahey, Norman Shore.
Plot:
In the small town of Red Rock, a devil-worshipping cult led by Reed Weller (William Smith), is in league with the local sheriff (Robert Z’Dar). Weller’s servant is The Collector (Pepper Martin) who kidnaps boys and girls for sacrifice…
Reviews:
“There’s a couple of neat makeup effects but in general this is a very horror-less horror film based on a stale script that exchanged entertainment for exposition. Keep your paws on the FWD button and stop it when Smith and Z’dar chew up the scenery.” Toxic Graveyard
“The effects in this movie weren’t bad, but they were pretty inconsistent with the deaths. Some of them they lingered on like they were proud parents, while other kills are simply done out of frame. Yeah you slapped some burnt looking makeup on the “Collector” but couldn’t you show me the lawyer blowing his zombie kid’s brains out?” The Bad Movie Couple
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“Evil Altar is remarkable only in its ability to inadvertently entertain (as a comedy). Robert Z’Dar, another career-villain plays the sheriff, a mean thug who’s in league with Smith’s warlock. Between the two actors, they have nearly 500 movies to their credit, about a dozen of which are any good – but this ain’t one of ’em. When those two share scenes however, both insinuate their best growls into the line deliveries.” Bob R., Letterboxd.com
“At one point the collector dies, then shows up on a TV set. A floating killer baseball threatens a young girl. This ridiculous movie has lots of nonsense dialogue and some serious continuity problems. The synthesizer score goes, “Aahhhhh!'” Michael J. Weldon, The Psychotronic Video Guide
“The best thing about this video movie is villain William Smith, who portrays evil on a level few other actors can attain.” John Stanley, Creature Features
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Choice dialogue:
Teri: “Josh, he’s never gonna die is he? This is just like that horror movie where the guy never dies.”
